9. Keep the coaching focused to one or two goals that will help the employee improve the performance or close a skill gap.

10. Cultivate a comfortable setting during coaching sessions. Make sure you will not be interrupted. Set a positive tone, and communicate genuine support for the person’s development.

11. Develop ground rules up front. For example, the discussions during a coaching session will remain confidential, and each party will agree to fulfill his or her commitments to the coaching process.

12. Establish preferred work styles and a method of feedback up front. For instance, some people like to receive feedback in written form so they can process it at their own pace and refer to it during the coaching process. Others prefer to receive feedback in spoken form.

13. Set mini-milestones to help your coachee build confidence and stay motivated.

14. Be clear about who has promised what during the coaching process. To maintain accountability, periodically assess whether both parties have fulfilled their agreements and commitments.

15. For large goals, such as acquiring a new skill, invite your coachee to create an action plan that lays out the coaching need, the goal, the steps the coachee will take to achieve the goal, ways of reviewing progress, and the role that the coach will play (for example, attending meetings to observe the coachee’s behavior).

Best Coaching in Nigeria

1. Ask open-ended questions (those that require more than a “yes” or “no” response). They generate more valuable information than closed questions (which require a simple “yes” or “no”) do.

2. Spend more time listening and observing that you do talking and judging.

3. Don’t try to psychoanalyze your direct report based on your observations of his or her behavior. Doing so is inappropriate.

4. Never pry into an individual’s personal life or make judgments about his or her character or motivations to interpret your observations.

5. Do not use your performance as a yardstick to measure others. Assuming that your direct reports have the same motivations or strengths as you do is unrealistic and unfair.

Tips for Giving Feedback

1. Give feedback as soon as possible after observing performance. Wait only if doing so is necessary to gather necessary information. On the other hand, if the behavior you’ve observed was particularly upsetting, consider waiting until you’ve calmed down before providing feedback.

2. Don’t use feedback to underscore poor performance. Also, provide feedback on work that is done well—you’ll help your employee learn from what he or she did right.

3. Focus feedback on behavior, not character or personality. Emphasizing behavior helps prevent the other person from feeling personally attacked.

4. Avoid generalizations. Instead of saying, “You did a great job during the meeting,” offer feedback that is more specific, such as “The graphics in your presentation communicated the message.”

5. Describe the other person’s behavior and its impact on projects and/or coworkers. You’ll help the person see why it’s important to address problem behavior.

6. Focus feedback on factors that the other person can control. Feedback on factors that he or she cannot control is not constructive.

7. Keep feedback focused on issues that your employees can rework or improve in the future.

8. If a troubling behavior or action was a one-time event, consider letting it go.

9. Be sincere. Give feedback with the clear intent of helping the person improve.

10. Give feedback as often as necessary.

Tips for Receiving Feedback

1. Ask your direct report for specific information about how the coaching process is going. “What did I say that made you think I wasn’t interested in your proposal?” or “How were my suggestions helpful to you?”

2. Seek clarification in ways that don’t make your coachee defensive. “Could you give me an example?”—not “What do you mean, I was unreceptive to your idea?”

3. Help your coachee avoid emotion-laden terms. “You said that I’m often inflexible. Give me an example of things I do that give you this sense.”

4. Don’t be defensive. Offer justification or commentary on your actions only if asked. Tell your coachee when you’ve gotten all the feedback you can process.

5. Thank the person for his or her feedback, positive and negative. You’ll build trust and model productive behavior.

Tips for Cultivating a Spirit of Partnership

1. During coaching conversations or sessions, set your direct report at ease. Don’t let the person feel that he or she is being scrutinized.

2. Ask the employee, “How do you think we are doing as a unit?” You’ll convey the important message that everyone has a part to play in the coaching process.

3. Review the purpose of the coaching process and its positive benefits for both parties. This will psychologically prepare you and the employee for the process. It will also act as a “warm-up” for useful dialogue.

4. Do whatever you can to avoid interruptions by phone calls and other intrusions. Taking a phone call during a coaching discussion sends the employee a nonverbal signal that the call has a higher priority, which is exactly the wrong signal.

Tips for Eliciting Responses from Uncommunicative Coachees

1. Rehearse how you will respond if your coachee doesn’t provide thoughtful replies to your questions during coaching discussions or sessions.

2. Practice speaking slowly and taking long pauses. You’ll give the other person time to formulate responses to your questions and ideas.

3. Make it clear that you expect a reply—and are willing to wait for one.

4. Ask open-ended questions—those requiring more than a “yes” or “no” response. They encourage more thoughtful replies than closed questions (requiring “yes” or “no”) do.

We are a Consulating & Training organization based in West Africa. Our mission is to provide affordable solutions to all regardless of social standing or country of origin.